Red Clay, Blue Cadillac: Stories of Twelve Southern Women

I tend to shy away from short stories, but this one is making me reconsider my habit. Michael Malone's red clay, blue cadillac has twelve short stories, and each features a headstrong woman whose story seem to be totally unrelated to the others at the surface. However, more than one woman end up killing their husbands, and in these stories, a good portion of the story explains why she did it, and you will probably sympathize with her! Malone has that writing talent to do so. One of my favorite stories is "Charmain," one of the many in this book who kill her husband. She is in court and you might think that she was stupid to kill, but after she relates (but not to the court) just how much of a jerk her husband Kyle was, I sided with her. I loved how in the stories, the narrator is usually a man that is somehow connected to the woman, either as a former/current love interest or a colleague. I have read few stories with that interesting perspective, and I love reading in this new light. The third person narrator is often too distant and the first person narrator (with the first person being the main character, I mean) is good but too common. Malone also is from the South. So am I, and I love his quips about the lazy Southern life. Example: He briefly comments how it's hard to get the Times paper down here. He hints at the idyllic lifestyle we Southerners have to those who are not familiar with it and also to those who live the lifestyle but often do not realize it (while reading this book I realized just how slow it really can be in Georgia). Malone, with his style of writing, made me embrace my Southern heritage because it's so different from the rest of the United States, especially the North (he contrasts the North and South sometimes, which did make me feel grateful for some aspects of the South). Not everyone's husbands die. Some end up married happily ever after. Others are not married. One woman got married five times. There are so many different women in red clay, blue cadillac. I will admit, some of the stories are okay at best but as a whole, the intriguing stories come together for a fabulous read. I read very few Southern authors' works, and after reading this work, I'm definitely considering reading more! That, and short stories.

Although I'm not prone to reading short stories, anything by author Michael Malone is usually priceless. This collection is no exception. A terrific concept is this, the grouping of Malone's fictional observations of a dozen Southern women, as diverse a group as the real tapestry of women in the south.Led by Malone's award-winning "Stella, Red Clay" - which is more of a look into the relationship between a father and son, both of whom admire ex-Hollywood star Stella, from a distance, this story was worth the price of the book and definitely deserved the two national awards it garnered. In the collection, about 7 of the pieces are well-developed, and the rest fall a little short of the artistry you've come to expect from Malone's novels. My personal favorite was the look into the soul of a battered woman in "Charmain, White Trash Noir" - Malone perfectly captures the lack of self-esteem, yet the ladylike manner a real Charmain would display when confronted with the dilemma of airing her marital dirty laundry in order to save herself from a conviction.I granted 4 instead of 5 stars because I particularly disliked the snapshot of Malone's "Justin-Cuddy" series...all about a local deb in Hillston (Patty, Love & Other Crimes). It definitely did not do the series justice.From the creation of the concept, the cleverness of the cover in the oversize paperback, the ebb and flow of Malone's poetry written as prose, you'll enjoy this collection. And, if you do, be sure to gather Malone's other gems, his novels, which are amazing!

Mr. Malone, I wish you would stick with Cuddy and Justin as they are your finest, in my opinion. The very best story here is Maddie and I wish you had developed her into a full length book. That story was greeeeat. A good mystery, good historical stuff and a good twist in the end although I think I saw it coming. I cannot get enough of Cuddy and Justin so please carry them on into the future. Please????

The Italians have a word for it: "sprezzatura," meaning "the art of effortless mastery." Michael Malone, North Carolina's twenty-first century Prospero has exactly this kind of prestidigitator's touch with the short story form. His collection entitled: "Red Clay, Blue Cadillac" has a natural flow which makes reading it pleasurably easy. Proof of his legerdemain? Presto! Two of these stories garnered national prizes: "Stella, Red Clay" won the Edgar Allen Poe award and "Meredith: Fast Love" the O.Henry laurel.A notoriously difficult literary form, the short story usually entails a five point structure: 1. situation 2. generating circumstances 3. rising action 4. climax and 5. denouement. Such literary strictures apparently pose no hardship for Malone who, while maintaining his necromancer's panache with narrative, never loses his inventive prowess. His humor and command of southern speak shine. Here, the novelist presents the reader with a dozen distillate vignettes, every conception dazzlingly real.Each story bears a woman's name and there are as many types as stories: the omnipotent femme fatale, the psychologically abused wife, the easy sexpot, a feisty and unsinkable old African-American... to name only a quarter ot the total. Malone doesn't limit his magician's sleight of hand to the distaff side either; there are fascinating guys too: a good ole boy hunter type personifying bumpkinhood, a clueless, abusive husband, a slick upper class lawyer, and a harried sports manager. These lists omit many memorable minor characters.I was delighted when Malone's sleuthing duo, police chief Cuddy Mangum and chief detective Justin Savile whom we know from "Time's Witness" and "Civil Seasons" showed up in the seventh story: "Patty: Love and Other Crimes." A Cahner's Business Information, Inc. critic called this story, "pedestrian." I found it anything but. "Patty" fits the classic pattern snugly; plus it has an ingenious plot, insight into the human psyche, really funny dialogue, and enough twists and surprises to keep the reader happily engaged. Loving Savile, as I do, I was disappointed that Cuddy has more hilarious conversations with "Bubba Percy, the star (in his opinion) reporter for the Hillston Star," than he does with his chief detective.I always envy those who have yet to succumb to the enchantment of a Malone book for the first time. My initial reading brought Robert Louis Stevenson's appreciative lines to mind: "The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be happy as kings." Malone's version of the new south is on target and fits this quotation. I'll betcha it'll prove even more rewarding the second time around.Postscript: When reading a work so full and varied, surely, one must wonder about the inscrutable interior stratagems involved in the creative process. In the fourth story "Charmain: White Trash Noir" there are four words which may hold subtle clues to the internal windmills turning inside the learned, labyrinthine m